May 10, 2005

Australia's ABC Mediawatch program has chastized a Murdoch journalist, Janet Albrechtson, (think Ann Coulter with an Aussie twang) for promoting the "Good News From Iraq" blog of Arthur Chrenkoff.

The segment reveals that Chrenkoff works for John Howard's Liberal Party, on the staff of Senator Brett Mason. As one commenter said:

Given the breadth and sheer volume of links that Arthur includes in each post one can only assume that a great deal of Arthur's posting occurs during public tax-payer funded work hours. Quite a great deal in fact. So do we now conclude that the Australian tax payer funds this blog???

It's good to see someone on Chrenkoff's case. Like Albrechtson, he is an embarrassment to Australia.

Chrenkoff's "Good News" site is part of a tight little network of US propaganda blogs, including Iraq The Model, Little Green Footballs, Roger L Simon, etc (just check the mutual links on each site).

Any intelligent observer quickly comes to suspect that there is far more to these sites than meets the eye.

For example, Chrenkoff celebrated his blog's first anniversary with some intriguing nods of thanks to supporters including "Major Tammes at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, our special correspondent and tireless translator Haider Ajina, and friends at CENTCOM, various embassies and ministerial offices, who have to remain nameless."

Another example. I became suspicious that Omar Fadhil, one of the bloggers at Iraq The Model, was actually running a Berlin-based radio show. According to my Google search, about the only person in the world who posted a link to this German "Election Radio" show was Australian-based blogger Arthur Chrenkoff, who just happens to be a very big fan of the brothers at Iraq The Model (the feeling is mutual). Chrenkoff's link to the German radio show was included in part 20 of his "Good News From Iraq" series. Surprise, surprise, Omar Fadhil at Iraq The Model then just happened to post a link to Chrenkoff's Good News From Iraq Part 20 story! (click here for my previous post on this)

As regular readers know, I have written extensively about Iraq The Model (see here and here).

The USA has acknowledged that it is running PsyOps in Iraq and it requires little imagination to argue that sites like these are all on the US government payroll.

UPDATE: I am now being attacked by Chrenkoff and his mates like Tim Blair as a conspiracy theory / tin foil hat blogger spouting "blatant insanity". So for anyone visiting from those sites who may be interested in the truth, I present:

Of course you won't hear the truth about these "conspiracy theories" at places like Chrenkoff. If you want to know more, read on....

UPDATE 2: Now someone called Judith calls me an asshole for voicing suspicions about the Kesher Talk website's extensive coverage of Omar and Mohammed Fadhil's trip to the USA (where these Iraqi bloggers just happened to meet with George W. Bush and Paul Wolfowitz in the White House). Predictably, Judith also comes very close to calling me anti-Semetic.

Judith argues that Howard Fienberg has not run Kesher Talk since sometime in 2003, even though he still owns the site. So what does that prove?

My point is that there exists an extensive network of blogs and websites with the mutual objective of spreading pro-war propaganda (if not outright lies). And as I said, given all the lies we have been told, it would be naive to think that none of these sites is on the US (or Israeli) government payroll.

Ask yourself what motivates people like Arthur, Judith, Simon, the Fadhil brothers and Howard? Are they really decent, caring right-wingers who sincerely dedicate their free time to such sites in the belief that the Bush agenda - including the Iraq War - is a great leap forward for freedom? If so, why are they not angry at all these lies we have been told? Indeed, why do they themselves help to spread such lies with such voracity? Or could it be that they are pursuing their own selfish agendas by jumping on the pro-war bandwagon?

I mean... Arthur Chrenkoff just happens to work for a Liberal senator? Come on, folks. Use your heads.

UPDATE 3: Heads up! Here's another US$81 billion being poured down the tube! You folks at the bottom just divvy it up among yerselves, as per usual...

19 comments:

I admit there is a secret conspiracy behind the war blogs backed by the CIA and the Whitehouse (think Jeff Gannon). If you stop brining this to the public's attention and convert to the dark side adequate compensation can be organized.

Meanwhile (in typical "progressive" fashion), Gandhi makes no attempt to contradict the gist of Chrenkoff's news items; i.e., that there is, indeed, good news out of Iraq, which the MSM (and "Gandhi" himself, apparently) have absolutely no interest in promulgating.

Oh, and while we're at it:"just check the mutual links on each site" says Gandhi, hinting (in that inimitable, nuanced, "progressive" style)that all of the sites that happen to present a view he can't stand simply MUST be part of a greater conspiracy. So, how many left-side sites link to Democratic Underground and the positively grotesque DailyKos? What's good for the goose....

I for one value your input on this matter, Ghandi, and pray to the most beneficient Allah that he will grant you many more years of life, so that you might go on smearing my enemies with your particular brand of goo.

Just one criticism, though. You need to talk more about me, and how unjust it is that I had my country taken away from me just for gassing a few worthless Kurds.

Also, do whatever you can to hide the fact that I had the UN and every nation that opposed the coalition invasion totally in my pocket.

For if you do, and our allies the Jihadists chop the heads off just the right number of unarmed civilian Nepalese chefs, victory is sure to be ours!

(Just be sure to drop the whole 'freedom', 'democracy', 'feminism' and 'liberalism' thing after America is gotten out of the way, okay? Or we'll have to chop your infidelic head off too).

I'm laughing my arse off at the number of people you've pissed off. Good one Gandhi. While I don't share your opinion on the strength of the relationship between US Gov and war-blogging memebots, I think you raise some interesting issues. If normal companies are using buzz and direct-advertising techniques, there's no reason to think that the most powerful military complex on the planet hasn't caught on. And even if you're way off, it's fun watching these guys in the echo-chamber get pissy :-D Oh! The egos.

Tim Blair, ugh, I read as far as the post entitled "Clean up on aisle three" and couldn't get any further. He should read my blog and see if he can keep that smirk in his tone. What an ignorant dickhead. Didn't realise he was a Murdoch boy *snort* but makes sense now. I'll admit they are pretty tight-knit, but I don't know if payment and direct inducement is the most parsimonious explanation. I guess that sort of thing can self-organise. Like so many writhing, blind, Dendroctonus micans larvae, they seek each other out and cluster in tight little self-reinforcing masses. Icky to behold, but the pattern is not necessarily meaningful. If coleopterans can do it, there's no reason to think that war-bloggers can't, being (marginally) more evolved.

Judith - You're not on the payroll? Boy are you missing out. I'm going out to the mailbox to get my check right now. Then it's off to meet the rest of the gang at the Elders of Zion meeting tonight (shamelessly stolen from "the Doctor" at Meryl's). After that, we're going to go torture some Palestinians, steal their orchards, and, just for good measure, desecrate their cemetaries. Oops, that would be the Jordanians.....

Gandhi, in the words of the Dread Pirate Roberts, "Truly, you have a dizzying intellect."

Your flawless logic has convinced me of the reality of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy and that most or all of my fellow bloggers are on the payroll. I am just p****d that I have been doing it for free all this time. Doh!

Zeppenwolf: I can't get Rove to return my phone calls and I still haven't gotten my check. Do you have his direct number?

Vie

P.S. Gandhi, Blogger has a spellcheck feature. You should look into it. Every time I see you use the word "webstie", my eye starts twitching.